A POPULAR Australian DJ says a nude video she shared on messaging app Snapchat has been digitally altered and publicly distributed without her permission.
Tigerlily, whose real name is Dara Hayes, has almost one million social media followers and is known for her vibrant blue hair.
The Sydney-based DJ frequently performs in nightclubs around Australia and overseas.
On Thursday morning, the 23-year-old posted a status to her 490,000 Facebook followers explaining how an image of her was “ripped from Snapchat, edited and distributed ... against my will.”
News.com.au has obtained a copy of the photo but has chosen not to publish it.
Ms Hayes says the original video was filmed three weeks ago in a Munich hotel room by her female tour manager.
“I’d just taken a shower and I put on the white hotel robe. She filmed a Snapchat video on her phone. We were having a bit of a laugh and being silly and I flashed her,” she told news.com.au.
“She edited the video before she uploaded it. She made it black and white and then sped it up, so the Snapchat was only about two seconds in length, because it was going so fast.
“She covered my private parts with emojis and squiggles. You couldn’t see anything. She showed it to me, I had a laugh about it and I said it was fine for her to post it. I didn’t think twice about it,” she said.
Ms Hayes says an edited version of the video was uploaded to a “creepy blog site” by a group of boys who have been “trying to find nude photos of me for about 12 months”.
Using a separate editing app, they removed the “emojis and squiggles” and slowed the video down to reveal Ms Hayes fully nude.
“The type of content on that blog is insane. They have Snapchats of mine from years ago where they’ve zoomed in on bikini shots and posted photos of other women with blue hair who are naked.
“I have absolutely no idea who posted it. It’s obviously someone who follows my tour manager on Snapchat,” she said.
Hundreds of Ms Hayes’ fans have written messages of support on her Facebook post.
“Can’t believe how disgusting people are to violate your privacy. Stay strong & remember you are a truly inspiring and beautiful woman that is rocking the music industry,” wrote one fan.
Another wrote: “From one women who has had her privacy violated to another, I stand with you and support you 100% on this, stay strong beautiful.”
But others disagreed. “There’s a difference between keeping it private for yourself and uploading it to a public domain ... Just saying,” one person wrote.
Ms Hayes called the distribution of the image a “sex crime”.
“The main issue here is that I didn’t approve the content being distributed in that way. If the content had remained unedited and distributed widely, I would be OK with that. It disgusts me and is really upsetting to see young people continue to bully one another online.
“I put my heart and soul into my work and it’s already difficult enough being a woman in a male-dominated industry. I just knew this would exacerbate things.
“I work quite closely with the underage [nightlife] market and I didn’t want that to affect their view of me as a positive role model.
“This whole victim blaming attitude and stance that people take is really wrong. I think that attitude comes from a lack of education,” she said.
A Snapchat spokesman told news.com.au the company is taking “aggressive steps” to prevent third party apps and plugins from being used with Snapchat.
Ms Hayes has set up a fundraising page for mental health organisation Headspace. To donate, visit Make A Difference.
Do you know more about this story? Email rebecca.sullivan@news.com.au
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